Sedex Platform Walkthrough: Uploading SAQ, Linking Buyers & Sharing Audit Reports Step-by-Step

You receive an email from your buyer saying, “Please register on Sedex, fill in your SAQ, and connect your account with us.” You log in to Sedex but are not sure what to do next.

Using Sedex is not difficult, but it is important to follow the correct order. Missing even one step can leave your buyer looking at an incomplete profile or unable to see your audit report.

This guide takes you through the three most common tasks that the supplier has to undertake – filling your SAQ, connecting customers and uploading your SMETA audit report. In addition, we’ve included the mistakes that Indian exporters make while using Sedex at Legal4sure.

What Is the Sedex Platform and How Does It Work?

Sedex is an online platform containing the information about your company and its sites, SAQ responses and results of SMETA audits shared with customers associated with you on the platform. It is a platform for sharing information but not a certification body, therefore no account or audit gives you a “Sedex certificate”.

Imagine it as your single profile available to many retailers and brands. You respond to the same ethical sourcing questions only once, and then select who will see your responses.

There are four types of information stored within this platform: company and site information, workers’ information, SAQ responses in labour standards, health and safety, environment and business ethics, and audit information including corrective actions.

Sedex Platform vs Sedex Certification

However, many suppliers look for Sedex Certification, but this is something that Sedex does not give. All you will get is membership, SAQ and SMETA audit done by an independent audit firm only if the buyer wants.

Sedex Platform Requirements: What to Prepare Before You Log In

You can register in minutes, but completing the SAQ takes real information. Gather these items first and you’ll finish in one sitting instead of three.

• Details of legal entity: the registered name of the firm, its address and the individual responsible for managing the account.
• Site information: address, products manufactured and buyer-identified operating sites. Every site gets a reference in the database.
• Worker details: total number, full-time employees versus contractual, temporary workers, sex distribution and working hours.
• Type of membership: B members form the bulk of factories. If your factory is buying from your suppliers, you require AB membership. We have a comprehensive guide on Sedex membership types.
• Evidence to support: wage details, factory license, fire safety clearance, environmental approval, HR policies and anti-bribery policies.

Do you need a SMETA audit before joining? No. You can register, complete the SAQ and link buyers first. The audit comes later, usually when a customer asks for it.

How to Upload an SAQ on the Sedex Platform (Step-by-Step)

For uploading an SAQ through the Sedex platform, all you need to do is login to your supplier account, go to your site, fill up each section of the questionnaire, review it and then submit. You cannot upload any file but fill the questionnaire online.

That’s why “Sedex SAQ upload” is a slightly misleading phrase. Here’s the actual flow.

Step 1: Register & Fill Out Company Profile

Register via invitation from your buyer or at Sedex website. Fill in company information and after that fill out your site and workforce profiles. Do not hurry while filling out your workforce, since questions will depend on it in SAQ.

Step 2: Start the Self-Assessment Questionnaire

Go to your site and start the SAQ form. It is divided into sections according to the four important pillars. Fill in each section one by one and save your changes after filling.

Step 3: Answer Each Section & Prepare Evidence

Give honest answers and prepare evidence for it. Buyer or auditor can always ask for documents that prove each “yes” answer in the future.

 

SAQ Section	What It Asks About	Evidence to Keep Ready
Labour Standards	Wages, hours, contracts, child labour, forced labour, freedom of association	Payroll, attendance records, contracts, age verification
Health and Safety	Fire safety, machinery, first aid, accident records	Fire drills, training logs, accident register, licences
Environment	Waste, water, energy, emissions, permits	Consent letters, utility bills, waste disposal records
Business Ethics	Anti-bribery, data protection, whistleblowing	Policies, training records, grievance logs

Step 4: Review, Submit and Keep It Current

Ensure that all questions have been answered before submitting the document. Consider the SAQ as an evolving document. Buyers would want the SAQ to represent your facility accurately, so make sure you revise it after any significant event such as the installation of a new production line or change in personnel policies.

Common SAQ Mistakes

• Saying yes without supporting documentation.
• Including headcount numbers not in payroll files.
• Letting the SAQ become out-of-date after the last audit.
• Passing it on to one person without involving HR, EHS and management.

How to Link Buyers on the Sedex Platform

To link to a buyer, either accept the link request that your buyer sends from their Sedex account or find your buyer and make a link request from your Sedex account. Only after this will the link become active. Linking on its own does not give away anything. Sharing is done separately.

This is the point where things often get confusing. The supplier links the buyer, and thinks that the buyer now sees everything. But this is not the case!

Linking Steps

• Access the connection section of your supplier dashboard.
• Look out for pending invitations from buyers. Accept your buyer’s invitation if they have sent you one.
• If no request is pending, look out for your buyer using company names and issue a link request.
• Ensure that your request is accepted by the buyer. Sedex buyer linking is reciprocal, meaning the buyer and supplier should be in agreement.
• Make sure that the link points to the right website and not the company itself.

Reasons Why Linking Request is Stuck

• Incorrect search for the company entity and/or the sister brand.
• The buyer has not yet accepted the invitation.
• You did the link at company level while the buyer needs a site.
• The buyer does not have access to any customer. Buyer should have A or AB membership.

If a request sits for more than a few days, ask the buyer’s sustainability team to check their end. It’s usually a quick fix.

How to Share Sedex Audit Reports with Buyers

To make the SMETA audit report available via Sedex, your auditor uploads the audit report and the action plan for it at your site. You review the report and then share the audit with each buyer to which it is connected.

An unexpected fact is that you do not need to upload the audit report; the audit company does it for you. In accordance with the SMETA guidelines, the auditor is supposed to upload the report within two weeks after the audit is conducted.

Who Does What in Audit Report Sharing

Stage	Your Role	Auditor or Buyer Role
Audit booking	Give the auditor your correct site reference	Auditor confirms the audit on the platform
Report upload	Check the audit appears on your site	Auditor uploads the SMETA report and corrective action plan
Corrective actions	Fix findings and add closure evidence	Buyer tracks progress after sharing
Sharing	Select the audit and share with chosen buyers	Buyer views the audit once shared

Steps to Share Your Audit

1. Log in and review the audit history of your site.
2. Verify that the latest SMETA audit and CAP are available.
3. Select the connected buyers to whom the report is to be shared.
4. Distribute the audit and verify the status of the buyer.
5. Continue with corrective actions till all findings are closed.

What Buyers Can and Can’t See

You control what your individual buyers see. This is important when you offer competing products. Share information that the customer needs and update it whenever you create a new link.

Another good practice is to ensure closure of corrective actions before sharing. A report that has open issues prompts follow-up, while one that has closed issues fosters faster trust building.

Sedex Platform Best Practices From the Field

We work with exporters in food processing, packaging and textiles, and the same few habits separate smooth Sedex accounts from messy ones.

• State one owner. One person controls the account, with an alternative who understands the login process.
• Utilize a common evidence folder. Store SAQ proof, payroll and policies in one place to ensure that preparing for the audit takes days, not weeks.
• Schedule yearly tasks. Dates for membership renewal, SAQ assessment and audit are available.
• Confirm your site information before the audit. Conflicting information of the site reference and audit appointment results in delay.
• Do not assume. When answering an SAQ question that does not apply to your operation, ask Sedex support or your consultant instead.

When to Get Outside Help

You can run all of this in-house if your team has time. Consider a consultant when you have several sites, a tight buyer deadline, or open non-conformities from a past audit. For everything else, a clean checklist is usually enough.

Key Takeaways

• As Sedex is a data-sharing system and not a certificate, the account or the audit will not generate a Sedex certificate.
• SAQ is done online in four parts without submitting any document and evidence must be maintained for every answer.
• Linking the buyer does not mean any data sharing; the buyer will only see what you want to show.
• The SMETA report is uploaded by the auditor and then you can approve and share with linked buyers.
• Maintain updated information about the SAQ, site details, and corrective actions to keep the buyer’s profile up-to-date.

Conclusion

When it comes to Sedex, there is an advantage for suppliers who do things in the right order: registration, SAQ completion, linking the buyer, and finally sharing the audit report. Follow the above procedure and most of the tension will be gone.

Start with preparing your evidence pack and information about your employees, since the rest will come automatically. If you want an extra check of your profile before it’s viewed by the buyer, our experts at Legal4sure can help.